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Rangers to meet with Oswalt Monday; What about Cardinals?

Roy Oswalt remains one of the biggest names on the free agent market this offseason, and it looks like the Rangers have some interest in adding him to their already-loaded pitching staff.

The club is planning to meet with Oswalt and his agent, Bob Garber, on Monday for a get-together that is “exploratory,” MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports. The addition of Oswalt could be costly, particular for a club that has three arbitration cases remaining and not much opportunity in the starting rotation.

Oswalt lives in Mississippi and has a long-standing relationship with Rangers club president Nolan Ryan. The Cardinals are also interested, and are high on Oswalt’s list, but St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak denied this weekend that a deal is in the works.

The Cardinals, who are also pretty well set in terms of starting pitching, are reportedly at least seriously in the running for Oswalt. MLB Network Radio reported Friday night that a deal was very close, and ESPNBoston.com reported that night that Oswalt has “elected to stay in the National League” and that he is “likely” to sign with the Cardinals “soon.”

But, as MLB.com’s Matthew Leach reported, Mozeliak wrote in an e-mail that reports were “not true.”

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